The Manna War
by Desert
Summary: The Crucis Angels have attacked the Yaggdrasil tree and the goddess Martel in order to gain control of the manna flow. Now both worlds need manna. This is a Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Symphonia crossover
1. Chapter 1

Kratos Aurion stood hidden behind a birch tree in the forest. His mission was to anger Martel and the Yaggdrasil tree, thus upsetting the manna flow between the two worlds. He was well equipped with a strong dagger and a trusty shield. "_Martel will be awake any minute now_." He thought. When she woke, he would strike.

---

Cless was in his father's training grounds, practicing his swordsmanship. The defeat of the evil sorcerer, Dhaos changed the course of history, and now his parents are alive, and magic is still in existence. His uncombed, orange-red bangs hung over his eyes, obscuring his vision, but he had learned to move around that. "A good swordsman doesn't use his eyes alone." He says to his dad whenever he asked if he was swinging his sword around blindly.

Cless's friend, Chester, was practicing with his bow in the archer's range just east of the swordsman's grounds. Chester had become a master with the bow, and he even wanted to open up his own bowman school. Unlike Cless, his long, blue hair was kept in a neat pony-tail that hung down to his lower back. He could string an arrow and hit the bulls-eye in a matter of seconds; it was a movement that he memorized. _Twang!_ An arrow hit the center and Chester grinned.

---

Martel's eyes flashed open. He laughed a loud, happy laugh and all the animals of the forest rushed to the great tree to receive their daily blessing from the goddess of the forest. Among the animals were wolves, serpents, owls, boars, raccoons, and many more. "_Now is the time_." Kratos thought. "_She will be so distracted with the blessing that she won't even notice me_." Kratos knew where to go; he had visited and studied this tree for a long, long time. "_There will be a hole in the back of the tree just big enough for me to get in. It is where the animals visit the great goddess_." Kratos crept to the back of the great tree and entered the small chamber. "_Where is she? She should be right here_…" He thought to himself. He walked further into the tree, but there was still no sign of Martel. "_There must be a secret passage of some sort_…" He ran his hang along the rough walls of the chamber until he felt some abnormal crack. There was a small opening in the side of the tree. He crouched down and looked through it. All he could see was the vines on the other side of the forest. "_It's only a hole…" _There must be something that I am missing…

"So, Kratos Aurion, a Crucis Angel, has come to upset the manna flow between the two worlds. How funny."

Kratos turned around. He saw Martel standing behind him in front of the doorway that he came into. He drew his dagger. "Yes, I am here by order of Crucis. I am to upset the manna flow between the two worlds." He stepped closer to the goddess.

"You know Kratos, if you kill me, both worlds will die, and everyone living will too. You haven't read the ancient scriptures?" She giggled.

"I am not here to kill you, Martel. I am here to injure you. Once you lying hopelessly on the floor, the great tree will take manna from both worlds to give to you in order to keep you alive. Thus, both worlds will fight for manna."

"It is a good plan, Kratos, but how will Crucis benefit from this at all? Do you like to see both worlds suffer?"

Kratos grinned. "You are not very smart for a goddess. Isn't it obvious? Both worlds will be too distracted with trying to get manna that they won't even realize that Crucis is taking control of the great tree, and you, Martel. Now, brace yourself, my dagger is coming."

**P.S. Please leave reviews if you read this. I really enjoy knowing what my reader's think. Oh, and I'm not that good at constantly adding chapters, so make a review and put: MAKE A NEW CHAPTER!**


	2. Chapter 2

A loud scream echoed across the land. Birds flew out of their trees in fright. People lay on the ground, their hands clutched to their ears, trying to drain out the horrible sound. The sound waves rattled the pebbles on the ground, inside the pottery store pots shattered and fell from their shelves. Cless lay on the ground clutching his ears, his sword lay beside him. The straw stuffed dummies he was training on fell over. Suddenly, everything grew quiet. Nothing moved, not a living thing made a sound. Cless stood up, his ears were ringing, and his head ached. _"What was that?"_ He asked himself. He picked up his sword and sheathed it, then ran to the archer's range to check on Chester.

Chester was still lying on the ground with his hands cupped to his ears. He slowly got up and brushed the dirt off his shirt. "What in the heck was that, Cless?" He picked up his bow and slung his quiver of arrows over his back.

"To tell you the truth, I really don't know what it was. But I know something bad is going on, or something bad is going to happen. Maybe my dad will know what it was." Cless gestured for Chester to follow him. They both exited the archer's range and made their way across the town square. Many people were recovering from the sound. Most of them were asking "What was that?" or "What happened?" No one seemed to know what just happened. They reached the eastern edge of Telius and entered Cless's house. Cless's father was waiting for them at the kitchen table. He stood up at the sight of Cless and Chester.

"Are you two alright?" He asked. He face was pale. He bent down a picked up a few shards of broken china that fell from the table during the scream.

"Yeah, we're alright," Cless said. He sat down at the table and motioned for Chester to do the same.

"What was that… that noise?" Chester asked after he sat down in the small, wooden chair. He pushed some hair out of his face.

"I'm afraid that you kids wouldn't understand if I told you…" Cless's father sat down in a chair across the table from Cless and Chester. "You see… that… that noise, it was the goddess Martel's scream.

"The goddess Martel?" Cless's eyes were open wide. "I thought that she was just a legend…"

"She is very real, and she lives in the forest just south of here. The very one you two hunted in when you were younger."

"Why did she scream?" Chester asked. His eyes were also opened wide. He was very interested in the subject of goddesses and gods.

"This is the part that you two will not understand. But I will tell you some of what I know." Cless's father sat up straight in his chair. "You see, there is a group of superior people called Crucis. There are only about six people in this group. These people are often described as 'angels' because they have wings. These… 'angels' created another world long, long ago called Tethe'alla. Both Tethe'alla and Sylverant, our world, are linked by the great tree, Yaggdrasil. Both worlds need manna to exist, but there is only a limited amount of manna. So, both worlds fight for more manna, by sending a chosen every time their manna supply runs low. The chosen then goes across the world to the Tower of Salvation, where he or she is sacrificed to Crucis. Crucis then awards manna to the world that the chosen is from."

"So… these Crucis people are basically the center of both worlds?" Cless asked. He didn't quite get it.

"Yes, they are." Answered Cless's father. "Only two chosen out of all other chosen have tried to stop Crucis and restore peace to both worlds, Colette, from Sylverant, and Zelos from Tethe'alla. Even though they did restore peace to both the worlds, Crucis still was able to devise a plan to make the two worlds compete for manna again."

"Is this they're plan? Harming the goddess Martel? How is this going to make the two worlds compete for manna again?" asked Chester. He understood more than Cless, but he still couldn't grasp it.

"Yaggdrasil, the great tree, will now leech manna from both worlds in order to heal Martel. Thus, both worlds will need manna, and their chosen's will take on the quest of world regeneration.

"Why would Crucis do such a thing?" Chester asked.

"That I do not know… But I am sure we will soon figure that out… Only time will tell boys, but I suggest you stay out of anything relating to this." With that said Cless's father walked upstairs to the bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

Kratos cleaned off his dagger, the blood of Martel was carried down the river with the water. He did not regret the decision he made, Crucis would return to power because of it. He sheathed his dagger and started to walk to the north, to the town of Telius. _"Now that I have harmed Martel, I can give my dagger a more… frightening name. And maybe one to myself. Maybe, Kratos, the master of the gods, or Kratos, goddess killer._ He continued to walk through the thick forest. His mind focused on names for himself and his weapons. _Crack! _A twig snapped somewhere behind him. Kratos didn't notice the noise, he just kept on walking.

"Dang, stupid twig!" Sheena whispered. Se hid behind a thick birch tree, her eyes focused. She was sent here by the people of Mizuho to kill Kratos before he injured Martel, but she was too late. She held her dagger in her left hand; her right was pressed against the tree. Kratos had moved farther ahead. She darted to a tree about six feet away from Kratos. She reached the destination without being noticed. _"Your time is over Kratos Aurion, father of Lloyd Irving. You have done too much for Crucis."_ She leapt out from behind the tree and sprinted toward Kratos, her knife raised.

Kratos spun around, and his face turned pale. He could feel the cold blade of the dagger in his body. His warm blood soaked his clothes. _"How… how did this happen? How was I so careless to not notice a ninja form Mizuho?" _His vision was fading, he could see his life flashing before him, the betrayal of his own sun, the fight with Yuan. _"What can I do? I do not want to die yet… I… I do not want to die here." _He barely had the strength to utter,"Firs… First aid!" His bleeding suddenly stopped, and his vision cleared, yet the pain was still there. He pried the dagger out of his back and tossed it aside.

Sheena looked at him, her eyes wide in fear. "How! How are you still alive?" She slowly backed away from him.

"Demon fang!" Kratos yelled. A blue blade of magic flew from his dagger and sent Sheena skidding across the rough ground. Her head hit a tree and everything went black.

---

Cless and Chester had their weapons ready and were walking toward the forest. They reached the beginning of the masses of trees and stopped to rest.

"How does your father know all this stuff about Martel and Crucis, and all that stuff?" Chester asked.

"I don't really know… He never told me anything about it until today… I wish he would tell us more though." Cless stood up. "Come on; let's go before the boars retire for the night.

They walked further into the forest, checking for any sign of boars. They could not find any foot prints, droppings, or tusk marks anywhere. Yet they went deeper, because they hadn't found one in a long time and they wanted to fight something.

"Wait… I thought I saw something move." Cless said. He stopped and hid behind a tree. He motioned for Chester to hide behind one on the opposite side of the path. A red haired man stumbled down the path, his purple clothes were blood-stained and he was clutching his back and groaning. Cless rushed out to the man and caught him as he started falling.

"Let go of me kid, I have important… things to attend to." The man brushed Cless away and continued down the path.

"Are you okay, sir?" Cless followed the strange man. He wanted to help him.

"I'm fine kid." The man stumbled, but regained his balance.

"Who are you?" Chester asked, he jumped out from behind the tree he was hiding behind. "You look… suspicious…"

The man forced a laugh. "I'm suspicious, eh? I am Kratos Aurion. My reasons for coming here are my own. Now I need to leave." He started for the edge of the forest.

"How did you get hurt?" Cless asked. He was staring at the gash in his back. _"He must've been attacked…"_

"Let's just say that I was attacked by an… an animal." He walked away and would not answer any more questions.

Cless shrugged and walked on. "Do you think that Martel's scream upset the animals of the forest?"

"It might've… But I don't know… He did say that an animal attacked him. Maybe it made them upset." Chester shrugged. "Wait… What's that? Do you see it?"

Cless squinted, and he saw something lying against a tree. _"It's either sleeping… or dead…"_ He rushed to the place where the body was, Chester was right behind him. "It's a girl!" He said.

"Is she dead?" Chester asked. He poked her with his bow.

"Stop that, Chester." Cress crouched down and took the girls wrist in his hand, he could feel a pulse. "She's definitely alive. Maybe she got attacked by an animal too…"

Chester shrugged. "We better get out of here then; we don't want to be attacked by raging animals too." He started for the town.

"We can't just leave her here," Cless protested. "We've got to take her home, or at least to the inn. Now help me pick her up." Cless and Chester lifted the girl and started the walk to the town.


	4. Chapter 4

Sheena opened her eyes. She could feel a thick blanket over her and a wet cloth on her head. _"Kratos! Did he get away?" _She couldn't go back to her village if her task wasn't complete. _"Where am I anyway?" _She sat up and checked her surroundings. She was in a bed in a small room. There was one window in the room, and by the look of it, it was night. She took the wet cloth of her head and climbed out of the bed. _"I have to get out of here and catch Kratos; I can't let him get too far away." _She walked to the door, but stopped. The door knob was already turning, and a kid stepped in.

"You're awake!" said the kid.

"Who are you?" Sheena asked. She was confused. "Where am I?"

"I'm Cless, and this is my house. My friend Chester and I found you out cold against a tree in the forest. We were worried about you so we brought you here. Do you feel better?"

"I feel fine. Thanks for asking. Did you happen to see a man walking out of the forest before you found me?" She sat back down on the bed, her legs were weak.

"Actually, I did. He didn't look too good. He had a huge gash in his back, and his clothes were stained with blood. He said that he was attacked by an animal and he had important business to attend to. Why do you ask?"

"No reason… Is your father awake? I need to talk to someone about something."

"Yeah, he is. Follow me." Cless walked through the open door and walked down a long hallway. He then descended a flight of stairs and led Sheena to where his father was sitting at the dinner table.

"Well, you finally woke," said Cless's father. He looked surprised.

"Thank you for keeping me here, sir." She smiled and sat down in one of the wooden chairs. "May I ask how long I've been sleeping?"

"Only for a day," Cless's father replied. "May I ask your name?"

"I'm Sheena of Mizuho. I've come to assassinate the one who harmed Martel, but I was too late… Are you familiar with the events that are taking place now?"

"Very familiar," replied Cless's father. "You said you were from… Mizuho, I'm not familiar with that city. Where is it located?"

Sheena looked back to see if Cless was still standing behind them, she didn't see him. "Mizuho… it's part of Tehe'alla."

Cless's father looked surprised. "So these events… they are disturbing Tehe'alla as well?"

"Yes, very much. You see… this man that harmed Martel; he is Kratos Aurion of Cruxis. Evidently, Cruxis wants to upset the flow of manna and regain control of the worlds again while we are struggling to get more manna."

"She knows about Cruxis too?" Cless whispered. He was hiding behind the flight of stairs.

"That is what I am thinking they are going to do also," Cless's father replied.

"I'm sorry, but I am going to have to end this conversation, I need to find Kratos and assassinate him, before he wreaks any more havoc." Sheena got up and pushed her chair in. "Thank you again for your hospitality."

"Wait!" Cless jumped out from behind the stairs and rushed toward Sheena. I want to go with you! I want to stop Cruxis!"

Sheena laughed. "You are only a child, it would be too dangerous for you." She continued to walk toward the door.

"I'm skilled with the sword, I can fight!" Cless protested. He looked back at his father. "Please, convince her, father, I want to go!"

Cless's father looked at Sheena. "He is skilled with the sword."

Sheena looked at Cless, then at his father. "I suppose you can come, but I will send you back if you are a burden of any kind. But your father must agree to send you."

"Is it alright if I go, father?"

Cless's father knew that Sheena was doing something good, but he did not want to loose his son. He thought for a minute or two, and finally came up with an answer. "Yes, son, you can go with Sheena, but be careful, there is evil in this world."

"Thank you, father. I will be very careful, I won't let you down." He smiled at him.

"You have until noon tomorrow to prepare yourself, I will be waiting for you at the inn." And with that Sheena walked out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Cless's mother stood at the entrance to the house waving at her son. It was just passed dawn and Cless had bid farewell to his family. He was wearing a new breast plate and he had a new shield strapped to his back. In his left hand he held his father's sword. He treasured this sword; it was the one his father had used when he was recruited in the King's army. His steel boots made a loud clanking noise that echoed off the buildings along the path to the inn. Cless couldn't stop thinking about Chester, how he would react to the news when he came to visit later today. He decided to not tell Chester that he was leaving town; Chester needed to stay home with his mother and sister.

"So, you actually are coming," Sheena said. She was leaning against the door of the inn. She had a sack of food and necessary items thrown over her shoulder, she looked ready to leave Telius.

"Why wouldn't I?" Cless asked. He would never pass up an opportunity to fight against evil, to return the world to a peaceful stage. "Where are we going once we leave the village?"

"We are heading north to Ecluid. We will stock up on goods there. We might have to sleep on the way there though. Now let's go." Sheena started toward the north gate, Cless followed close behind her.

He had never been out the front gate of the village, and he was in awe at the amount of open land in front of them. There wasn't a house in sight, only long plains of grass and an occasional tree. The walking soon tired Cless, but he pushed himself to keep up with Sheena, he didn't want to be a burden. After an hour and a half of walking, the city of Telius was far behind them.

"Sheena," Cless's voice broke the long silence. "Where is Mizuho? I heard you and my father talking about it last night."

"Mizuho is in Tethe'alla, the other world. It is a city inhabited by ninjas and assassins," she looked back at him. "It is very small though."

"So you… you're from the other world," he was in awe. "What is it like there? Is it any different than here?"

"No, it isn't much different at all, but I must say that the technology in Tethe'alla is more advanced than it is here."

"So that's how you got here. By means of technology… it's… it's amazing at what people can make."

She smiled back at him. "Yeah, I guess it is. I was like you when I was your age. I wanted to go out and see the world, and when I did, I was amazed at it. You see, Mizuho isn't a very advanced village, so when I saw the old technology that people didn't really care about, I was amazed at even that."

"Thanks for taking me along with you, Sheena," Cless smiled.

"No problem, now we better quicken out pace it we want to reach Ecluid today."

The walk continued until sundown. They camped out at a spot a couple of miles off from Ecluid. Cless had never slept outside before, so he had to get used to the sounds of the night animals.

"Good night, Sheena," Cless whispered. He lay down on the mat Sheena had placed for him under a tree.

"Night," Sheena replied. She rolled over on her mat and quickly fell asleep.

Cless stared up at the moonlight. He was finally out on an adventure, like the ones of all the heroes in the stores that his father used to tell him at night. Yet, nothing exciting had really happened yet, and he didn't know weather to look forward to it, or fear the day it would come. His eyes slowly closed, and he soon fell fast asleep.

---

Yuan paced about his office. His long, blue hair was pulled back into a pony-tail that hung behind his back. Yuan was the leader of an organization called the Renegades. The Renegades aided the last chosens in the quest for world regeneration that took place only two years ago, and things have already gone wrong.

A soldier busted through the door of Yuan's office. "Sir," he said, he was panting.

"Get a hold of yourself soldier," Yuan replied. "Now what is it?"

"There have been confirmed sightings of Kratos, in Ecluid and we believe he is headlining back to the Cruxis headquarters,"

"So he is still alive then… Sheena must have been too weak for the job. Have there been any sightings of Sheena?"

"Not that we know of, sir."

"Thank you for the information, now get back to your post,"

"Yes sir," the soldier ran out the door.

"_So… Kratos has lived through Sheena's attack… I wonder if she is still alive… And why haven't the Desians showed up in the midst of all this chaos? It's all so confusing…"_

---

"Get up!"

Cless felt something hit him in the back. He opened his eyes.

"Get up!"

It was a couple Ecluid guards, and they were armed. They already had Sheena tied up. He stood up to avoid getting hit in the back by the dull end of a soldier's spear. "What are you doing?" Cless asked.

"The King has ordered us to throw you in jail, killers of Martel," When the guard said Martel all of the guards bowed and made a gesture of worship.

"This is all a big mistake! We didn't harm Martel!" He felt the dull end of the spear hit him.

"Keep quiet, kid," the soldier started to tie Cless's arms behind his back. "Malachi, take his weapons and store them in the armory."

Another guard came to Cless's side and took his father's sword. "This'll make one of the soldiers a very happy man," the soldier grinned and ran off to the castle in Ecluid.

"No! You can't take that!" Cless tried to break free, but the soldier's grasp was too strong.

"C'mon, let's take 'em back to the dungeon," said another guard.

"Let me go!" Cless struggled to get loose, then everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

Cless sat down, his back against the cool wall of the jail cell. He was in the cell in the middle of the room, two cells left of Sheena's. His plastic tray of crumbs lay just outside the metal bars of the door. Stale bread and yellow water, that's what they gave him. The dungeon was located under the King's Palace, and the only escape route would be through the palace itself. Cless stood up and walked through a small puddle of water to the east side of his cell. "Sheena," his voice broke the long silence between the two. "Sheena," he said again.

"What is it, Cless?" she replied. She was obviously not in a talking mood.

"Why did those guards come and arrest us? How was the king sure that we were the ones who struck Martel?"

"When something like this happens," she stopped to find the right words. "People blame others, or people are quick to judge one another."

"Will we ever get out? Or will we be sentenced to rot in here?"

"Only time will tell. The king is probably checking with his elders, trying to figure out a punishment for us."

He had never thought of a punishment. Would they torture them, or hang them, or execute them publicly? _"None of this would've happened if I didn't leave home, if I didn't follow this stranger who seemed to be doing the right thing, and now I am paying for it in a jail cell."_

---

"Sheena has been located, sir," said a Renegade soldier.

"Where, soldier, where?" Yuan asked.

"The King of Ecluid's dungeon," replied the soldier.

"What! Why is she there? Why has she been arrested?" Yuan was outraged. His best assassin, captured and thrown into a jail cell when she did nothing against the law.

"The King of Ecluid has accused them of supposedly harming Martel; we have contacted him and asked him to release the prisoners, yet he will not change his mind."

"Did you tell him that we suspect that Kratos Aurion is the guilty one?"

"Yes, sir, yet the king still doesn't reason with us. It is like he is possessed by a stubborn demon,"

"Keep asking him to release the prisoners, and if he doesn't, send someone to get them out,"

---

"Cless," a voice whispered from outside Cless's cell. "Cless wake up, it's Chester, and I'm here to get you out."

"Ch… Chester?" Cless quickly got up; he must have dozed off earlier in the day.

"Yes, now come with me, and keep quiet," Chester unlocked Cless's cell. "Take this, I found it in the room outside of here, it looks a lot like your father's sword." Chester handed Cless the sword.

"It… it is my father's sword, thank you for getting it back from them. Now, how'd you find me?" Cless asked.

"The news of your capture has spread across lots of towns; everyone thinks you're the one who injured Martel. Now stop asking questions and hurry, it won't be long before they figure out that you're gone." Chester started for the door.

"Wait! We have to get Sheena out also," Cless said. He ran to Sheena's cell. "Sheena, wake up, my friend Chester is here to rescue us!"

"What?" Sheena leapt up and ran to the door of the cell. "He's gonna' get us out?"

"Yeah, now be quiet, we don't want to be heard," Cless replied and gestured for Chester to come to where he was.

"Fine, but she better not slow us down," Chester ran to Sheena's cell and unlocked the door with the set of keys that he stole from one of the guard's coats. "Follow me, and keep quiet."

Chester ran to the door leading to the soldier's barracks and slowly opened it. He tiptoed across the room and opened the room leading to the armory. "This is where we get out," he whispered. He opened the window. "There's a thick bush at the bottom that will break your fall."

"You expect me to jump out of a castle window?" Cless asked.

The footsteps of a night guard echoed off the walls. Every second the guard was getting closer and closer to them.

"Do you want to be caught again?" Chester asked. "Hurry or this guard will throw us all in jail!"

Cless looked at Sheena and Chester and climbed onto the edge of the window. "I'll see you at the bottom," he whispered, and then he jumped. The ground was coming closer and closer, the wind whistled through his ears, and then he hit the bush. Chester was right, the bush did stop his fall, but the branches tore at his clothing and scratched his arms and face. Chester and Sheena landed soon after him.

"Now follow me," Chester said. "We can take refuge in a hollowed out tree just north of here, then we can think about what we will do next."

As they ran off the castle alarm sounded behind them.


End file.
